Meeting Houndour
by M. J. Adamson
Summary: In the Johto region, a young girl named Moira Abridon is given her first Pokemon.


**TITLE: **Meeting Houndour

**AUTHOR: **M. J. Adamson

**EMAIL: **

**DISTRIBUTION:** This story is meant to be posted on . Any other sites that may want to post this story must contact me at my e-mail for authorization.

**RATING: **K

**GENRE: **General/Friendship

**SUMMARY: **In the Johto region, a young girl named Moira Abridon is given her very first Pokémon

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I claim no ownership of the Pokémon series and any companies affiliated with it.

**Meeting Houndour**

By M. J. Adamson

"It took a bit of finagling on my part, but I got what you asked for," the hushed voice of Professor Elm crackled through the computer speakers. As always, he was a bit of a mess. Though his hair was combed, his collar was popped and his tie askew. His brown eyes had a wild look about them, like he'd spent the morning herding a group of rather angry Tauros, but it was only to be expected of the young professor. He'd just had an amazing breakthrough in his research of Pokémon breeding and spent every waking moment cooped up in his laboratory with a cup of coffee not too far out of reach. His wife and child could vouch for that as they saw hide nor hair of him since he confirmed his latest test results with Professor Oak, proving his long-standing theory that two opposite gender Pokémon can produce eggs. "I transferred it to Nurse Joy in Goldenrod City since you only live a few miles away, but I'm really questioning your sanity at this point. Are you absolutely positive Moira's ready for this?" That 'it' just so happened to be a young Houndour that he managed to capture earlier, knowing that Moira loved dog-like Pokémon.

On the receiving end of the gritty video conference was Carina Abridon, most commonly known as Professor Pine to the scientific community. She was a researcher of Pokémon genealogy, having dedicated her life to tracing back the origins of each Pokémon known to man and their paths of evolution, and while it was a known fact that the legendary Pokémon Mew contained the DNA of each Pokémon and was quite possibly the oldest of them all, there seemed to be a missing link in the chain. It was unclear where and when Pokémon began branching off into separate species, but ancient records seemed to indicate a mediator between Mew and its children. Most scientists, however, claimed this to be a ludicrous theory and nothing more but fairy tales and fantasy, but Professor Pine was famous for supporting the hard evidence backing it up.

"I'm sure," she replied, her worried eyes glancing to her daughter. Moira sat quietly with a large, leather-bound book lying in her lap, her amethyst eyes scanning over the yellowed pages full of text and fading sketches of the first Pokémon to have been discovered. She was engulfed by an egg-shaped chair lined with synthetic, green fur that tickled her skin as she shifted her body into a more comfortable position. Long locks of raven hair bounced upon her shoulders as she giggled slightly. It was moments like these that Carina thanked the gods that her daughter could find delight in the simplest of things. Ever since her father had disappeared, she hadn't been the same. No longer did she barrel down the halls at lightning speed or crawl up trees like a bear; she didn't even imitate the sound of each Pokémon in her books anymore. She'd grown increasingly quiet and closed off to the world, and it seemed like no matter what Carina did, she couldn't change this recently developed behavior. "I think it will lift her spirits, and hopefully it'll bring her back to me."

Carina turned away from the monitor as she wiped a tear from her cheek. She could try to hide the physical evidence, but the tone in her voice resonated throughout Professor Elm's lab, calling the attention of his assistants. They'd been doing the best they could for her since her husband's disappearance, but the situation almost seemed hopeless with absolutely no leads. She wouldn't admit it, but it was plain to see that the breakdown of communication between her and her daughter was tearing their small family apart. That was why Professor Elm consistently called her every other day to check on her. Sometimes he'd ask a few simple questions just so that he didn't seem so suspicious, and other times he would discuss current events with her, wondering if they were impacting her as much as they did his own family. "Well, if you're absolutely sure, Carina, I won't stop you, but I must warn you now. This," he began speaking in whispers at this point, recognizing the light laughter in the background, "... Houndour is very temperamental. He acted a bit more tame once he was caught, but don't be too surprised if he starts chewing on your furniture or growling at passersby. He is a dog-like Pokémon, after all."

Carina was just about to thank the kindly professor when a phone call caught him off-guard, prompting him to say his goodbyes and to send his regards to Moira. She didn't even get a chance to respond to him, and chuckling, she turned off the PC and swung her chair around playfully. As depressed as she was about Moira's condition since her father's disappearance, she was excited to be giving her daughter her very first Pokémon, and she hoped that the two would become the best of friends, much like she had with the Mareep that had ambled into her family's barn when she was just a lass. She wheeled her chair over to the fur-lined, egg-shaped chair and spun around in front of Moira, earning a giggle from her as she gently closed her book. "Mommy, were you talking to Professor Elm?" she asked with enthusiasm in her voice. She thought the professor was the coolest thing since sliced bread, and every once in a while, Carina wished her daughter thought the same of her. Then again, her branch of research was a bit more complicated for little ones to understand. "Yes, sweetie," she responded, planting a kiss on the young girl's forehead. "He and I both have a big surprise for you, so why don't you go get your sun hat and we'll go visit Nurse Joy?" It took the small girl all but a few minutes to race from her chair and upstairs to her room, grabbing the sun hat sitting on her window sill. "I'm ready!" she chimed from the end of the stairs and the two set off for Goldenrod City.

. . . . .

It was getting towards the evening, but in the middle of the week, the Goldenrod City Pokémon Center was bustling with trainers from all over. Some were local and others were from the neighboring Kanto or far-off regions like Hoenn and Sinnoh, and all of them had one thing in common: they had underestimated the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed gym leader, Whitney. Her winning combination of Miltank and its Rollout attack really did a number on unsuspecting trainers, though most Johto ones seemed to be hip to her battle strategies. "I can't believe she took down my Raticate in one hit… I spent months teaching it Super Fang!" exclaimed a short, green-haired boy whom Moira couldn't help but stare at as her mother tugged her along. She glanced down at her daughter and smiled, glad that she was still interested in one day training Pokémon herself. She had feared that her father's disappearance had taken the joy out of Pokémon for her altogether, but when she saw her face light up when an older female trainer released her uncommonly pink Butterfree, she felt relieved. "Isn't it a great feeling to be around all these happy Pokémon and their trainers, Moira?" she asked her daughter when they reached the front desk, seeing that Nurse Joy was busy admitting another patient. She didn't look too happy, but Carina knew that this was just another day in the life of Nurse Joy. Moira nodded and let go of her mother's hand, jumping up so she could see over the desk in front of her.

"Sorry it's taking so long, Professor Pine," Nurse Joy apologized as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I've been getting Pokémon all morning from Whitney's gym. I really wish gym leaders would warn their opponents in advance, but don't mind me." She then turned her sights to little Moira who seemed to be having a particularly hard time trying to see over the counter. Normally, Nurse Joy didn't appreciate parents letting their children climb all over the Pokémon Center's furniture and playing with telephone booths, but she was glad to be witnessing Moira's first experience with her own Pokémon. It wasn't everyday that she saw the birth of a new Pokémon trainer, but she did see the rise and fall of them quite often.

Panting, Moira finally managed to settle herself upon the desk and was immediately drawn to the Poké Ball in her hand. It didn't take her long to put two-and-two together. Both Nurse Joy and her mother were being exceptionally nice to her, not that they didn't have any reason to be, but Nurse Joy was also giving her this excited grin. Analyzing her daughter's reaction, Carina spoke. "You know that Poké Ball is for you, don't you Moira?" she asked as Nurse Joy handed the capturing device to her. Just like her mother, she was both nervous and excited at the same time. She'd never opened a Poké Ball before, and while she was dying to see what was inside of it, she was afraid because she'd never had her own Pokémon. Still, she was more interested in the fact that there was actually a Pokémon inside waiting for her instead of being consumed by her fear, and without a moment's hesitation, she pressed the button on the Poké Ball, watching with wide eyes as it grew in size. "Go!" she commanded simply, watching with fascination as a red beam of light emerged from the open Poké Ball and released the Pokémon within.

When the light subsided, she gasped as she saw the dark-type Pokémon shake its fur and scratch the back of its ear with its paw. Houndour then turned to her with a studying glance, its nose sniffing the air as she remained completely still. She looked into its eyes, just like her mother told her she should do with each new Pokémon that she met and turned her hand palm-up, offering the Houndour to take in her scent and familiarize itself with it. A bit coyly, the Houndour crept toward her, sniffing the entire way until it was close enough to jab its snout into her hand. Her body tensed up, and Houndour could sense that she was afraid. However, the girl posed no threat to it whatsoever, and to show her that she didn't need to be afraid, it licked her hand. Both Carina and Nurse Joy sighed, knowing that Houndour could be a very hard Pokémon to tame. It seemed like each and every one of them were as wild as they came, but this one seemed to like the little girl. "He's all yours," her mother stated happily, watching as her daughter smiled wide and wrapped her arms around the Houndour's thick neck. Her face rubbed into his dark fur, the scent of the forest calming her. "Thank you, Mommy," she said as she turned her smile toward her. "I can't wait to see Professor Elm again!"


End file.
